The Reflection
by PetalQuartzdove
Summary: All that John had ever known was the blank darkness that had surrounded him, until he put his entire force on begging whatever that would listen for more. When his plea was answered by a burst of light from newly appearing stars, John is no longer alone.


Where our story begins, there is nothingness. Nothing but darkness, and a young boy. He spent most of his days here, unable to do anything but wander in the strange dark world he was put in. He pleaded for so long for something. Anything. Anything there. He wanted something to see, feel, smell, hear. And until he put his entire will into it, nothing happened. Until one day, where he finally got tired of waiting. The first thing his senses detected was light. Bright light, which he before knew no definition to. It burned his eyes, made him feel like he was pushed back, until finally his eyes adjusted. Near his now illuminated feet was a pond of water. He looked into the strange unidentifiable pool and stared, seeing his own self, leaping back in surprise, not knowing. Slowly, he approached it again. After moving a bit, he discovered that it showed him.

He was an average looking boy, pale skin, black hair, glasses and bright blue eyes, wide with amazement. He dipped his hand into the water, a strange feeling he has never felt before surrounding the limb. He looked around the now illuminated by some strange force area with curiosity, trying to find the source. It was above him, he found. He looked to see many different firey burning specks in the sky, the stars that failed to show themselves before. "Thank you..." he said, bewildered by this. "Thank you for answering me." He felt a sort of empowerment by the newfound stars, then he bowed his head and whispered aloud, "Please. You have been very generous already, and I do not mean to be selfish. But please don't tell me that I'm..._alone_." His voice shook almost on the last line, the word 'alone' being somehow scary to him. "I just want someone else. Somebody to be with."

The boy waited. And waited. It felt like a very long time has passed, and eventually, he almost gave up on seeing any other life. Body trembling, he tried to blink back tears that spilled against his cheeks, much like the feeling of touching the water. Then, he heard a small... _drip. drop. _He turned to the source, seeing that the pond of water had been rippling. Curious, he walked to it, but when he looked in his reflection, he wasn't alone.

The ripples ceased. Looking up at him was a strange looking boy, almost mirroring our main character, in a strange distorted way. He had small orange horns, yellow-orange eyes with grey pupils that peirced whatever looked at them, grey skin, and a black shirt with a strange grey sign on it. Mystified, the human boy reached out his hand, the troll doing the same. The moment their hands skimmed the water, it began to ripple violently. Then, a huge flash of light emerged from almost nowhere, nearly blinding the human boy.

When his sight finally returned, the boy from the water's reflection stood in front of him. The two speechlessly stared at each other. "Are you..." the human began, "...me?" The troll furrowed his brow. "Of course not, idiot." The human frowned. "Hey, you just met me, calm down. You're the first...person I've seen all my life." The troll sighed. "Same for me. But...if we're both new to knowing others...how do we know so much yet so little?"

It was true. They both knew a wide vocabulary, but the only memories they had were the darkness, and the sudden change. "Did the specks of light...guide you here?" The troll boy looked puzzled. "What do you mean? You came out of the water." John stuttered, about to say something but remained silent. "What's your...name? Wait, what is a name? ...Oh." he said, his mind somehow answering itself. "I don't know." the troll spoke. Suddenly, it shook beneath their feet. "Look out!" the human boy shouted, and all of a sudden two things dropped from the sky. Almost instinctively, they both grabbed one. Some sort of grey rectangle block, with names carved in. The one the human held read 'JOHN EGBERT' and the troll's was 'KARKAT VANTAS'

"My name is Karkat Vantas." Karkat spoke. John looked up at Karkat. "Mine's John Egbert." he said, voice filled with confusion. "Do you think we're the only ones?" Karkat looked up to the stars. "Can't be. Has to be someone out there. Maybe the stars are people, yknow. They've answered me a lot of times." John smiled, feeling a bit happy that he is no longer alone. "Me too. Even though most of the time I couldn't see anything." Karkat rose an eyebrow. "We both have been through a lot of the same stuff." John went over to the pool of water, sitting down, letting his feet barely carress the top of the water. "Yeah." Karkat joined him, looking over at his new companion.

"Maybe we can find out what we're here for together." John said. Karkat looked into the water, seeing them together, confirming that this in fact was real. "Yeah, maybe." John began to get emotional, his frame stiffening up. "I just can't beleive it. Someone...someone also alive, right next to me." He reached out to Karkat, hand flat. Karkat met John's hand with his own, their warmth combining. They loved the feeling of each other's skin, even though Karkat's was more rough. John released the bond of their hands, then forming various shapes in the water, which Karkat joined. They both chuckled, enjoying themselves with the littlest of things. After they were finished drawing with the water, John, trusting Karkat, leaned his head on his shoulder. At first, Karkat froze up, but then wrapped an arm around John.

"S-Sorry if you don't want me doing this," John stated. "It just feels like...instinct." Karkat's eyes met John's. "Then follow your instinct. It could lead to something important." John nodded, then wrapped his arms around Karkat, embraceing him. Karkat did the same, feeling like he had no other choice but to go with the flow of his mind. Then, John slipped the slightest bit in releif, planting a gentle kiss on his lips. Not knowing any better to what that really meant, Karkat returned the gesture.

They couldn't control what slipped from their lips next.

"I love you, Karkat."

"I love you too, John."

"Promise we'll find our way to freedom?"

"I promise."


End file.
